While a Manhattan jury deliberated whether Daniel Penny is guilty of killing his his son, Jordan Neely’s father on Thursday sued Penny in civil court for the fatal chokehold on a Manhattan subway car.
Andre Zachery’s Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit lists assault and physical battery and seeks unspecified damages. His attorney, Donte Mills, did not respond to a request for comment.
Jurors have been deliberating since Tuesday whether Penny is guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the deadly chokehold onboard an uptown F train on May 1, 2023.
They heard from more than 40 witnesses, including passengers who described Penny taking Neely down from behind in a chokehold after Neely got on at the Second Ave. stop and started screaming about being hungry and not caring if he died or went to jail.
The prosecution has argued that Penny acted recklessly by continuing to restrain Neely in a fatal chokehold for several minutes after passengers fled to safety when the train stopped at the Broadway-Lafayette subway station.
Penny’s lawyers contend he acted justifiably and for the good of others throughout the encounter and that Neely’s schizophrenia, sickle cell trait, and synthetic cannabinoids in his system killed him, not the chokehold.
The 26-year-old from West Islip, L.I., served four years in the Marines. He was employed as a barback in Brooklyn at the time of the incident and is studying architecture.
Neely, 30, was homeless and estranged from his dad and other relatives for at least four years before his death. In his younger years, he hustled for money on the streets and subways in performances emulating Michael Jackson.
He tragically lost his mother at 14 in 2007 when she was murdered by her partner, who discarded her remains on the Henry Hudson Parkway. In a previous interview with the Daily News, Zachery — who’s attended all of Penny’s trial — said the horrific loss sent Neely into a deep funk, seeing him drop out of high school and his psychiatric condition worsen and go untreated.
Reached for comment, Penny’s lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said his legal team had not yet been served with the suit but would respond in due course.
“Our legal team remains focused on seeing Mr. Penny’s criminal case through to acquittal,” Kenniff said.
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